Gordon Smith

Gordon Smith was born in 1919 in England and moved to Winnipeg with his family in 1933. He came to Vancouver in 1940, married Marion Fleming and joined the Canadian Army. Returning from service overseas in 1945, he continued his art education at the Vancouver School of Art, then taught at the school for a decade. He joined the Faculty of Education at UBC and taught art until his retirement in 1982. The last 30 years of his artistic career have been his most prolific. As a master of colour, he explores the B.C. landscape in a fresh, expressive and aggressive style that is unparalleled by other artists. He was awarded the Order of Canada for his significant contribution to Canadian culture in 1996. We are honoured to name our gallery after him.

Often referred to as silkscreen printing, serigraphy is the most common kind of stencil printing. Silk is tautly stretched across a frame, and an image is created by affixing a stencil to the mesh to mask out areas dictated by the composition. Paper is placed beneath the screen and a squeegee is used to push ink through the mesh. Stencil areas obstruct the ink. Separate screens and stencils are made for each colour.

Etching is an example of intaglio. Intaglio derives its name from the Italian intagliare, meaning to incise. Copper or zinc plates have a waxy ground applied to them, and an incising tool called a scribe is used to penetrate the ground. The plate is immersed in an acid bath, where the acid bites into the incised lines to emphasize them.When the plate is ready for inking, the ground is removed and the entire plate is covered in ink. The plate is then wiped clean on the surface and printed on damp paper, where the paper is forced into the etched lines and picks up the remaining ink, resulting in an image.